20010731019869A

(-23) Pilot heard engine noise getting louder and louder. Oil pressure indicated o PSI. Aircraft was in cruise at 3000 ft. smoke began coming form engine cowling. Pilot located large field below him and attempted emergency landing. On approach to field, with engine at idle, pilot overshot field, banked hard left to avoid bridge and trees and subsequently crashed into railroad tracks on 20 feet high embankment. (.19) on July 31, 2001, at 1550 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, N55205, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in New Milford, Connecticut. The certificated student pilot received minor injuries, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed for the flight, between waterbury-oxford airport (oxc), oxford, Connecticut, and orange county airport (mgj), montgomery, new york. The student solo instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR part 91. According to a federal aviation administration (FAA) inspector, the airplane was in level flight, about 3,000 feet, with the engine operating at 2,350 RPM. The student pilot heard the engine "get louder," then saw the oil pressure go to zero. The engine began to run roughly, so the student pilot reduced the power to idle and attempted to land the airplane in a large field. During the landing, one of the airplane's wings struck railroad tracks. Post-flight examination of the engine revealed a hole in the crankcase, in the vicinity of the #2 cylinder. (.4) the airplane was in level flight, about 3,000 feet, with the engine operating at 2,350 RPM. It began to sound louder than normal to the student pilot, then the oil pressure dropped, and smoke began to emanate from the engine. The student pilot reduced engine power to idle and attempted to land the airplane in a field, but overshot it and struck trees. Post-flight examination of the engine revealed seven quarts of oil showing on the oil dipstick, and no broken or loose oil lines or filter. The engine had a hole in the crankcase in the vicinity of the #2 cylinder. An engine teardown revealed that the #2 connecting rod had separated from the crankshaft and had outwardly bent the cylinder skirt. The connecting rod that contacted the crankshaft journal exhibited lateral scaring, heat signature, and peening. The pi ston, by means of the connecting rod, was moved the length of the cylinder barrel and the stroke was limited by the destruction of the cylinder skirt. The number two crankshaft journal displayed the same characteristics as the end of the connecting rod. The #1 cylinder connecting rod was separated from the piston, and bent approximately 10 degrees at the base of the pin hole with the piston pin still in place. The top pf the connecting rod displayed peen marks, as did the bottom interior of the piston. The piston could not be moved from the top of the cylinder. The connecting rod was loose on the journal with one hold-down nut missing. The opposite hold down bolt and nut were tight. The connecting rod exhibited rotational scratching, with no heat signature. Three of four connecting rod hold down nuts were recovered. The lipped surfaces of two of the nuts displayed no rotational scratch marks associate with contacting other metal surfaces; the third nut had such rotational scarring. The engine had 6,036 hours of operation and 456 hours since overhaul.